Told by MS that Non-Handicapped is not a valid room request

[disneyberry]

Over the years, my husband and I have really become a lot more laid back about the rooms we get staying at DVC resorts. We used to request things like building location or certain views and upper floor, but we just don't mind about any of those things anymore.

The one thing we have never been able to let go is how much we dislike being assigned to a handicapped-accessible room. That roll-in shower just makes the trip unpleasant with the bathroom being soaked. It also makes the general bathroom atmosphere not as nice as we'd like.

So for a number of years, our *one* room request has been to ask for a Non-Handicapped room. MS agents have always inputted that in, no questions asked. It seems like such a simple request.

Today, however, I spoke with someone at MS who absolutely insisted that that is not a request that can be made. She even insinuated that all the MS agents I have worked with in the past have just typed in the request without informing me that in actuality it will not be passed onto the resort.

She implied that because it was a non-standard request, the resort will never see it, and that they only see requests such as a specific room# or a certain floor. My guess is she meant the hard coded requests which might have a field or a drop down box or check box on the MS system.

She also told me that the more last minute you book your room, the more likely you will be put in a handicapped room.

In the end I did get her to agree to "type the request in even though the resort won't ever see it".

In any case just thought I'd share this information with DISers.

 

[bobbiwoz]

People have successfully been able to request "villa with a tub!" At least that's what I've read here.

I have gotten a HA room, not wanted, at resorts that I booked 11 months in advance. Go figure!

 

[Brian Noble]

If I understand things correctly, a recent back-end systems change has standardized the requests one can make, and room assignment is now a more automated process. If that is so, the CM might actually be right that it can't be made as a request now though it probably could have been made before this change. (It is possible that this CM was employed after this change happened). It's not like the CM has a reason to lie to you about this, does she?

That said, you may as well take advantage of CM roulette: call back, hope you get someone else, and say: "You know, I can't remember if I made this request or not, but we'd prefer to not have an Accessible room." Then, see what they say.

Also, when you check in, ask the CM if the room you will eventually get is Accessible. They won't tell you the room number until it is ready, but they know what it is, and may be able to reassign you.

Of course, at the end of the day, someone will end up staying there. And, sometimes that someone will be you. I've gotten one at OKW, and while the wet floor is a little annoying, we just sacrificed an extra towel to the cause.

 

[karrit2000]

This is the one request that I always make also. I had no problem having it noted on all my latest upcoming reservations a couple of weeks ago. Sounds like the rep you got didn't want to be bother having to manually type the request. Even if the resort doesn't see it it is still noted there. I had an incident a number of years ago at BWV where they put me in a HA room. Turned out the original request didn't get carried over to my wait list but the resort manager was able to see it on my original reservation so they agreed to move us the next day to a regular room.

 

[jennylyn_b]

What's the difference? Not being snarky I don't know and am concerned since we have to have a tub to bathe our DD who will be 2. We are staying in a studio.


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[cseca]

The HA room has a roll in shower. No tub.
That's why it's an issue for some people like us who has little ones to give baths to.

 

[jennylyn_b]

The HA room has a roll in shower. No tub.
That's why it's an issue for some people like us who has little ones to give baths to.

I did not know this thanks.


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[bobbiwoz]

The bathroom floor can get very wet and slippery. I was heartsick, when I got one at AKV and they absolutely said I could not get another room. When I explained about my walking, they did send up many many towels to put on the bathroom floor and it helped me a lot.

 

[TDC Nala]

She also told me that the more last minute you book your room, the more likely you will be put in a handicapped room.

This sounds like it may be crap, as they do not assign rooms according to when they were booked.

Try stating when you check in that you do not wish to be placed in an accessible room. You may have to wait for another room to be ready though.

 

[disneynutz]

One of my frustrations is getting a straight answer from MS. Either they don't know how things work or some fib to get you off the phone.

Here is what I know. A law change in March required that they make HC rooms a booking category and you can access HC inventory via the online website. It's not clear what they do with the inventory not booked under the new law. Has anyone received a HC room that they didn't want since March?

The pre-defined room views are part of the Disney cash booking system, not unique to the DVC. That's why some make no sense for DVC stays and why the DVC just doesn't fix the view listings. I was told a couple of times that they are using a program to match rooms but I was also told that free form entries are reviewed by the room assigners.

I also know that SSR does not have a DTD view request and our free form entry was not passed on to SSR. I discussed this issue with MS and was shown our reservation screen at SSR and the DTD request was not listed even though MS insisted that they could see it.

Bill

 

[Breyean]

I did not know this thanks.


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

At least at OKW in a 1 bedroom, where we had a HA room for a 9 nine stay a few years ago, the counter space in the bathroom and kitchen is reduced. As I recall, there also wasn't any under sink storage, like a shelf, in the bathroom sink. Plus the toilet is HA, so that might affect some people who find the height less comfortable than usual. I also believe the sinks are lower, because I seem to recall bending a whole lot more to get to them.

The shower was already mentioned.

-------------

Just called MS to add my requested rooms for my VGC trip and I asked about the non-HA request, in general. She said they still take it; she typed it in my new reservation and read it to me on my other two outstanding reservations. Non guaranteed, but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.

I always ask for a non-HA room, and they always note it. How do I know? I call back a while later and ask the new CM I get to check my requests to make sure I mentioned them all, and they read back to me what the first CM typed in.

I just made a reservation online today but haven't yet called to put in my requests. I will be interested in seeing if this is an issue now, esp since you can specifically request a HA room on line as a preference.

Yes, someone has to stay in them, but if people go out of their way to request not having one assigned them, then they can assign them to others who don't care enough about the differences to bother to make the request.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Once again the DIS shoes it's respect and tolerance


For those of you who need these rooms realize that the whining represents a vocal minority. Sorry

 

[karrit2000]

I don't recall seeing anyone being disrespectful, intolerant or whining here. I am one of those who has physical difficulties if I am forced to use a HA Toilet. So I simply make a request to not be assigned a HA room. It's one thing to tough it out for 1 night but for multi night stays I prefer that every effort be made to honor my request.

 

[Breyean]

Once again the DIS shoes it's respect and tolerance


For those of you who need these rooms realize that the whining represents a vocal minority. Sorry

No. As I always say when I make my request to MS, the rooms are great for those who need them.

People who need these rooms w/b less comfortable in non HA rooms, just as some of us who don't need them are less comfortable in HA rooms.

Pointing out differences between these room types is different how from saying you prefer a top floor, bottom, certain view, etc? Some prefer one thing; others another.

 

[CRobin]

Once again the DIS shoes it's respect and tolerance

For those of you who need these rooms realize that the whining represents a vocal minority. Sorry

Not exactly. The member who got the tree view at BWV pool / garden and complains is whining, and has forgotten / is unaware / doesn't care about the fact that DVC is 96% occupied, on average, so someone always gets the tree view. It's your turn, live with it.

The family who shows up with infants who need to be bathed in a tub are not whining.

 

[bwvBound]

Not exactly. The member who got the tree view at BWV pool / garden and complains is whining, and has forgotten / is unaware / doesn't care about the fact that DVC is 96% occupied, on average, so someone always gets the tree view. It's your turn, live with it.

The family who shows up with infants who need to be bathed in a tub are not whining.

Sigh. So I s'pose I'm just whining when I don't get the jetted tub I expected. Mine doesn't qualify as a "need" but that tub is a certain part of my expectations from a 1BR or larger unit.

I'll admit it, "I'm still carrying a grudge about getting the HA unit on the Club Level at AKV." I felt I should have received a few points back for having to work around the issues of that room. Yep, still whining ... sigh. Sorry!

 

[cseca]

...

The family who shows up with infants who need to be bathed in a tub are not whining.

Thank you.
When it was just us adults it wouldn't have bothered us. But when you have infants to clean during a 7 night stay it will be a challenge.
Unless you don't mind bathing your babies in the sink or something...
I don't think it is an unusual or a whining request. Just as a handicapped person would want to have a handicapped room to function or they would have trouble with the tub.

From what I remembered, if you get an HA room and you don't need it if you ask to be moved they will try to accommodate you without charging the "move" fee. It might not be the next day but they could notify you when it's available.

 

[Dean]

Once again the DIS shoes it's respect and tolerance


For those of you who need these rooms realize that the whining represents a vocal minority. Sorry

Not wanting a HC villa has nothing to do with disrespect, IMO. While I realize that the resort has to assign these rooms to someone once a certain occupancy is reached, personally I'd rather not be at WDW than be in one if I don't need it otherwise. It's no different than requesting a lockoff or non lockoff, building area or view. There are many reasons that people find them unacceptable, the fall hazard and lack of tub are our two. However, they have to go to someone so if that has to be me on arrival, I'll deal with it. Making a scene at the front desk is even more unreasonable. To suggest that making this (or any request) a priority is being petty and insensitive (if I read your intent correctly) to those that need a HC is an unreasonable position, IMO. I believe that anyone who would chose to be offended in this situation is simply looking for an excuse to do so.

 

[LisaS]

What's the difference? Not being snarky I don't know and am concerned since we have to have a tub to bathe our DD who will be 2. We are staying in a studio.

I've only stayed in one HA room, a studio at BWV, so I don't know how much of this applies to studios at other resorts. Our HA studio at BWV had a roll-in shower instead of a tub. You have to stand at the very back of the shower and angle the water that direction to prevent the floor getting soaked. There is no storage space in the bathroom so you have to store your toiletries outside the bathroom and carry things in and out as you need them. There was no real closet. There was a small armoire already filled with the vacuum cleaner, pack 'n' play and ironing board so we had to unload all that heavy stuff and store it in the corner of the room to make space for our clothes. (Not very magical looking at a vacuum cleaner all week!) There is no safe in the room.

All in all, the room was very inconvenient. There was no reason that I could see for the lack of storage space in the bathroom or the lack of a wall safe or a larger armoire with room for clothes and other things. We dealt with it but I was disappointed to see that those who really do need an HA room would have to deal with something like this, especially having to empty the closet of several large heavy items in order to hang up their clothes.

 

[Brian Noble]

I s'pose I'm just whining when I don't get the jetted tub I expected.

I don't think this should be an issue in the HA rooms. The 1BRs and larger should still have the separate tub---at least, I'm quite sure our HA 1BR at OKW had one, because we used it. The studios wouldn't have it either way.

There was no reason that I could see for the lack of storage space in the bathroom

Someone in a chair using the sink would need the space under the sink clear, at the very least. I suspect that's the reason for most of the differences.

Perhaps it's because I've never done a studio (Accessible or not), but at least in the 1BR, it was at most a minor inconvenience.